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18 Aug 2017 3:11:32pm

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Unfortunately your discussion of corporate philanthropy – this time the Paul Newman’s Own Foundation – was again a very uncritical presentation of how the system works.It is like this: While the ATO will not contribute to the cost of my private family vacation, it will assist my payments to my favourite school/church/arts festival/sporting group/environmental group/hospital/political party... because I am so selfish that I cannot accept the community’s (Should I say “Common-wealth’s”?) collective decision, through its government, on what should be funded.The Newman Foundation, in selectively supporting the 50,000 tax-exempt and 30,000 deductible gift recipients in Australia, is part of this $2 billion-per-year diversion of public funds to essentially private recipients. Notwithstanding his legacy as a “liberal” Paul Newman stands alongside Kerry Packer and so many other so-called “philanthropists” whose stance is, to paraphrase: “I will decide to whom I will make payments and the circumstances in which they are made”.Remember that Australians make probably another $4 billion of charitable donations per year which they do not ask the ATO to underwrite. I wonder if they are as focussed on avoiding tax on superannuation, luxury cars, company dinners, etc as so many “captains of industry”?

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